Lost on Titan

{Part 29}

~Videl~

The next week passed by in a blur. Videl was surprised to find that she was getting used to waking up early - she was actually starting to like it. Getting up before 6 a.m. made her feel like she had already accomplished something just by starting her day earlier than most. She was eager to see Kane every day waiting for her to show up, and she was too proud of herself when she wasn't late. She chose not to leave the bench until Kane and Dare were done, so that she wouldn't feel guilty about them cutting their work out short again, just to swim with her. And she was glad when Ava and Kayleigh showed up each morning to spy on Dare. The first day, they meandered by nearby machines, pretending to know what they were doing, when really they were trying to give Ava the opportunity to sneak peeks at her crush when she thought he wasn't looking.

Videl could tell that Dare was painfully aware of it by the look on his face, and it made her want to laugh to see how hard he was trying not to notice. By the third day, Ava had completely given up on hiding her intentions for being at the Gym, and to Videl's delight, and Dare's dismay, Ava joined her on the bench to openly watch him. Kayleigh was obviously satisfied that her friend was through pretending to work out, and was more than happy to retreat to the hot tub in the pool room.

Videl was glad to have someone to make small talk with while the guys were exercising, and she enjoyed not being the only one blushing on the bench like a lovesick puppy. It didn't hurt that Ava was a great conversationalist once she came out of her shell, so Videl didn't have to offer many words to get her new friend going on a friendly ramble. It was only a little awkward when Ava asked her something about her life, like what her favorite class in School was, and Videl had to evade her questions, or make something up that sounded believable. She didn't want to share what had happened to her in Cryo - she just wanted to have a friend that thought she was as normal as anyone else. But she didn't have the first clue what classes the real Videl had chosen for herself, let alone which class might have been her favorite. She didn't know anything about the experience the Videl of the past had in School, aside from a story that Sienna had told her about the day that Videl had an allergic reaction to a daro fruit smoothie in grade 6, and how she had nearly died when her throat closed up.

Once the guys were finished with their sessions each day, Videl would head to the women's locker room to get ready to swim. Kayleigh had talked Ava into leaving with her for breakfast most days that week, claiming how starving she was, but on the fifth day, Ava asked her to go on to the Cafeteria without her, so that she could join Videl (and the guys) for a swim. Kayleigh relented, asking Videl to look out for her best friend, so that she wouldn't feel guilty about leaving her for food, to which Videl earnestly agreed that she would.

Showering next to Ava was incredibly unnerving for Videl who had gotten used to having the locker room to herself while she rinsed off any lotions or perfumes on her skin. Changing into her bathing suit afterward was just as awkward for Videl, but each time she nervously checked to see if Ava was peeping at her, she wasn't, and so she tried not to worry about exposing herself. She chastised herself for being so wary of prying eyes, given that because of her frequent glances, she was looking at Ava way more than Ava seemed to be looking at her.

You're the one peeping and being weird, now. Videl thought to herself with chagrin. Because you're so scared of being peeped on. Relax, you weirdo!

Once they were dressed, the two of them made their way to the pool room, and when Videl wrapped a towel around herself before entering, Ava looked at her curiously.